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Wednesday, August 31, 2011

One good thing about having a community garden is that you can talk with your garden neighbors.

Find out why they are doing what they do and learn from their success or failure. That this garden bed is overflowing will lead to a revision of what and how they will arrange the plants for next year.

Whether gardening or looking for work, talking with your neighbors is one good way to learn and share information that may help you take the next step. On Friday, Sep 2, the next Job Search Jam Sessions will be held in Hopkinton. We have a good lineup of speakers and sessions that will meet your needs.
Tickets are available here. You can pay by credit card online or pay by cash at the door.

Monday, August 29, 2011

We're powerless but lucky to have escaped with little tree damage from what was left of Hurricane Irene. The power went out about 1:00. We were prepared with batteries, candles and the Coleman camping lantern provides a great deal of light.

When the rain stopped we picked up most of the small branches and twigs dropped by the wind from the trees. It didn't take long to cut up the one large branch that fell into the street. We'll have some good fire wood for the winter!

The cell phone batteries were the first to die away. Depending upon when the power returns (today?), we may need to run the car to re-charge them a bit. I have sparingly used my netbook and broadband card so I have several hours of connection remaining.

We did take a walk around the neighborhood last night. It was a rare event to see no lights anywhere. If there was a light (from a passing car, or a candle in a house) the little light was very noticeable in the darkness.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Is it readable? Is it clear? or do you make folks work to figure it out?

Came across the small sign on our walk Saturday morning. A recent addition. At first I wasn't sure what business they were attempting to provide the prices for. Then the 1.5 L triggered alcohol! Not shampoo!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

It was good to see the NE Revolution go up 2-0 at the half. Milton Caraglio is a quality forward and you could see the evidence of this by his play to score the two goals.

So why did the Revs lose?

For some reason beyond my comprehension, the Revs don't know how to play ball control. When they have the ball on a goalie restart, he kicks it out of bounds, or down field where it goes for an immediate turn over. The defenders, do the same thing. Kick it down and it goes for an immediate turn over.

What ever happened to playing pass back and forth, allow themselves to catch a breath, control the ball and dictate the pace of the game?

It is no surprise the Revs lose! They give the ball to the other team and the other team has more than enough chances to score a goal. If the Revs only kept the ball themselves, they would allow themselves more chances.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

How much would two days with 200 of the smartest people in new media be worth?PodCamp Boston 6 is just around the corner, September 24-25, 2011 at the Microsoft N.E.R.D Center in Cambridge, MA. Join up to 200 of your fellow new media practitioners for 2 days as you learn, share, and grow your new media skills together.
This year's theme is "the ultimate takeaway" for those old and new to the fun and learning of Podcamp. Too many conferences simply throw random stuff at you and leave you to fend for yourself. Maybe you learn something, maybe you don't, but you have precious little in the way of takeaways. We aim to change that experience for you.
During the weekend we will be creating a collaborative guidebook using Google Docs collections that will help you create a blog, podcast, social media channels, and more. The presenters will provide frameworks and starting materials, and then you and your fellow participants will lend your shared notes and insights to it. At the end, you'll walk away with a true book of PodCamp that will help you long after the weekend is over.
What might you learn? Here's a quick look at just a few of the sessions:

How to Market Your Podcast with Christopher Penn. You've got your audio or video, you've got your episodes, but no one is tuning in. Learn how to grow your audience.

Effective Google+ Tips, Tactics, and Strategies with Chris Brogan. Learn what you need to do to get the most impact out of this rapidly changing network, for yourself and your business.

Breaking the Bell Curve: Standing Out in a Sea of Same with Tamsen McMahon. So much these days relies on being seen.and standing out. You know you're special, but so is everyone else. How do you find your niche?

Social Inbox Zero with Michelle Wolverton. You'll learn how to take the popular Inbox Zero ideas and apply them to social media to help you get organized and be more productive while interacting via popular social channels with your clients, customers and influencers.

Blog Writing For Customer Action with Jason Keath. Learn how to write and structure your blog content so that it drives your audience to the key action you want.

The Current State Of Podcasting with Tom Webster. The 2011 update to Edison Research's long-running series on podcasting facts and figures, delivered with folksy down-home analogies and attractive pie charts.

You! We still have speaker proposals open.

Are you ready to learn, share, and grow your new media skills? Register now for PodCamp Boston 6:

Share PodCamp Boston 6 with your social network and invite them to attend!

Friday, August 19, 2011

Friday has rolled around again. Last Saturday I spent some time relaxing on Front Beach in Rockport, MA. This Saturday will bring a batch of things to do around the house here in Franklin.

I recall one speaker many years ago (so long ago, I have forgotten his name but not his point) who claimed that if you were not on vacation you needed to be planning your next vacation. Or words to that effect.

While I understand his intent and liked the sentiment then, upon reflection this should not need to be. This seems to make more sense if work doesn't matter, if what you are doing is simply preparing you for vacation. In this case, then going from one vacation to the next is a good thing. It will help you survive.

But what about having something good to do, making good progress on that direction/objective, day after day? Wouldn't that be better?

Monday, August 08, 2011

If no one hears the tree fall, has it really fallen? In this case, yes. The tree split and fell some time this afternoon. Not sure exactly when, folks were home but no one heard it. Doesn't mean it didn't fall. It did. It will take some work to cut it up and clear it out. Fortunately, no significant damage (other than to the tree itself).

Good thing it didn't fall the other way. Our neighbors fence would have taken a beating!

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

and Becky Kazansky
Google's latest foray into social networking, Google +, has created more controversy than ever — and the company is confronting a wave of online activism over its insistence that users wear their real names when they walk through the Google + front door.
If you're late to this controversy, The Guardian's Jemima Kiss has a good look at the state of play. On her own blog, danah boyd frames it from the view of folks who want the right to their pseudonyms: Google invited a tech-heavy crowd to be the first ones to use their service, including a solid contingent of people from the pre-Facebook Internet, where handles were far more common than real names. Before Michael Arrington's TechCrunch or even Ars Technica, remember, there was — and is — Slashdot, run by a man who is still best known as CmdrTaco.
Read on ...read more

Thursday, August 04, 2011

At a time when the economy is still in trouble, with jobs at a premium, this is not the kind of change to make.

On Monday, the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission denied a farmer-brewery license for the planned Idle Hands Craft Ales brewery in Everett. The next day the commission issued an advisory about how those licenses, used by nearly every brewery in the state, will be issued.

"The basic issue is that you have a whole bunch of breweries that will have to change how they are operated," said Ipswich Ale Brewery President Rob Martin, who is also president of the Massachusetts Brewers Guild.

....

A small brewery producing 600 barrels of beer (roughly 18,600 gallons) would need a 20-acre farm to grow enough barley to qualify for the license. It would also take three or four years before hop plants are mature enough to use in beer, Martin said.

"It's really a difficult problem," he said. "I think the edict was put out there before all of the nuts and bolts were looked at to see if they actually make sense."

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution announced today that Argentine forward Milton Caraglio (pronounced car-RAHL-yee-oh) has signed with Major League Soccer and will play for the Revolution as its first-ever Designated Player. Caraglio will occupy one of the team's eight international roster spots. Per club policy, terms of the contract were not released.
Caraglio is expected to join the Revolution for training on Thursday, August 4, and will be added to the team's official roster upon the receipt of his International Transfer Certificate.Read More

Tuesday, August 02, 2011

The PawSox got a walk off walk off win on Monday night. Down 3-2 in the 9th, they got a single, made two infield outs then the Louisville pitcher walked a batter and hit a batter to load the bases. The pitcher went on to walk in the tying run and then the winning run. Ryan Lavarnway (who had three strike outs and was hit by a pitch) got the winning RBI by taking the walk on 5 pitches.

Monday, August 01, 2011

The Lowell Folk Festival has come and gone for its 25th year. I was able to spend Saturday afternoon in the sun enjoying glorious music. A bunch of sherku were crafted listening to the music and absorbing the environment. As long as my phone battery lasted, I was able to post them to Twitter. The battery did give way but the pen and paper did not.